Book Review: New Kid by Jerry Craft (2019)

Jordan Banks, who really wanted to go to art school, has been sent instead by his parents to a fancy private school, where he is the new kid, and one of the only non-white students. As his seventh grade year unfolds, Jordan seeks to find his place in the student body as he also faces insensitive comments and behaviors from classmates and faculty members alike.

This graphic novel is the 2020 Newbery Medal winner. Much like 2019's winner, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, this is another stereotypically generic middle grade story which is distinctive only because its main character is a person of color. Being new in school is a main theme in hundreds of children's books, and for the most part, Jordan's feelings about the experience are almost identical to those of hundreds of other characters who have gone through it. With nothing new to add to this oft-told tale, this book is largely very boring.

Worse than causing boredom, however, this book also suffers greatly from its stereotypical portrayal of white characters. While it is certainly true that ignorant people make stupid comments about race, this book makes it hard to take that problem seriously because the white characters are just so laughably clueless. The teacher who repeatedly calls one black student by another black student's name is the most egregious, but almost every microaggression in this book didn't ring true as something a real human being would ever say. It would have improved the book a lot - and strengthened its message - if there had been some nuance to the ways white characters made Jordan feel marginalized, and if these microaggressions had been perpetrated not just by characters the story portrays as unlikable, but by some well-intentioned "good" characters as well.

As for the artwork in this book, it was fine, but not especially memorable for me. I think the style suited the subject matter, and the format is undoubtedly appealing to middle schoolers, but there weren't any images that I found myself spending extra time with or wanting to revisit. I also still question the legitimacy of giving an award for writing to a graphic novel, whose text and illustrations can't really be considered separately. I also question giving it to this book, which is not a particularly innovative or interesting example of this format.